


Found in the Forest

by idratherwrite



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Derek is 16, M/M, Scott is 11, Younger Derek, Younger Scott
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-16
Updated: 2015-11-16
Packaged: 2018-05-01 22:27:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5223302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idratherwrite/pseuds/idratherwrite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A young Derek finds a younger Scott alone in the forest and walks him home. Not much else happens.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Found in the Forest

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea with this fic. I just wanted to explore the idea of Derek and Scott meeting before the start of the series. I like thinking that Derek would be a great big brother to Scott (or would've been if the series hadn't screwed that up royally) and that even as Alpha Scott would appreciate having someone to take care of him (and with Derek it could be either as a boyfriend or as an older brother/cousin).
> 
> So, yeah, this doesn't even count as proper pre-scerek.

The chilly November air feels good in Derek’s lungs as he runs through the preserve. It had been a long day of slow lectures and practicing basketball moves so as soon as he could he was out and running. The full moon was too close and while his control was good he wanted to ask his mom to stay this one at home. Ever since Laura had left for college he was antsier than usual at school.

The sky darkened and he heard his younger sibling’s howl, signalling they were returning home. Derek howled back, short. He still wanted to stay outside for a while. If his mother wanted him back in a hurry, she’d howl for him.

He was glad that the preserve was large enough and the forest dense enough that they could run as werewolves without much to worry about. Well-placed rumors about dangerous wildlife also kept most hitchhikers away. Which is why Derek was instantly worried when he heard the obvious footsteps of a human.

The footsteps became shuffling noises, as if the human was moving on his knees. Derek approached the source slowly, and from a distance could make out the shape of a child. As he got nearer, he noticed not only the kid’s messy brown hair and tan skin, but he also heard a few sobs.

The child cleaned his face on his sleeve before continuing to move leaves around, obviously searching for something. He looked up from time to time, wary, as if something dangerous would leap at him at any moment. Derek smirked, deciding a good scare would make sure the boy wouldn’t stray so far into Hale land again.

Barefoot and shirtless, Derek made little noise as he moved closer to the boy. He was about to jump at him with a growl when he heard him whisper to himself a string of panicked “no”s followed by a small “mom’s gonna kill me.”

Sighing, Derek stepped on some leaves, making his presence obvious. Scott looked over at him and yelled, falling back.

“What are you doing here?” Derek asked, knowing he sounded more angry than worried.

“I-“ the child stuttered. “I dropped my inhaler,” he said, timid.

“Why would you throw it here in the first place?” Derek asked, approaching. Scott quickly stood up and brushed the dirt off his knees.

“I dropped it from there,” the boy said pointing at a place uphill. Derek didn’t bother to look.

“Why are you even here in the first place? This is private property.” Being so close to the boy had made some protecting instinct wake up in Derek. The boy was small, had asthma, and would obviously be in trouble if Derek hadn’t found him.

“I’m going home,” the boy said in a small voice. “I’ve used this shortcut before with my friend Stiles but I think I got it wrong.”

Derek huffed. The boy was way too far from anywhere with houses.

“Aren’t you cold?” the boy asked.

That made Derek pause. He was suddenly very aware as to how he might look to a human boy in the middle of the forest.

“Not really,” he answered. “I was jogging so that kept me warm.”

“Wow, you do more exercise even after practice?”

Derek looked at the boy, frowning at him.

“Um,” the boy looked down. “I know you’re the captain of the basketball team.”

“You’re too little to be in high school.”

The boy’s heartbeat quickened. “Yeah. I just- Sometimes I go and see practices. I want to play lacrosse when I’m in high school.”

Derek rolled his eyes. That wouldn’t happen if the kid was using an inhaler.

Remembering that as the reason why the kid was wandering around in the first place, he crouched, subtly trying to pick its scent. It wasn’t hard, as the medicinal smell was so obviously out of place it practically stung a little in his nostrils.

“Are you sure it fell around here?” Derek asked, following the smell. It wouldn’t do to make the kid more suspicious.

“Yeah,” Scott said. “I tripped with a big root and I saw it roll to here.”

“Is it this one?” Derek asked, picking up the item from where it had landed. The boy’s face instantly beamed and Derek’s heart missed a beat at his smile. The boy ran to him, taking the inhaler and looking at it.

“Oh my god, you found it! Thank you!”

Derek found that he was speechless against the boy’s smile, so he could only nod. He cleared his throat and remembered that the boy still had to get home safely.

“Why are you even in the woods this late?”

The boy’s face fell and Derek wanted to punch himself for it.

“Well,” the boy started, shy again. “Dad was supposed to pick me up from my friend’s house. Sometimes he forgets.”

Now Derek wanted to punch the kid’s dad.

“But Mom gets really angry when that happens and they fight so I thought I could get home by myself,” the kid finished.

It’s not that Derek was unfamiliar with how sadness smelled, but something about the bittersweet smell of this kid disarmed him. He found himself wanting to build a den around him for protection.

“It’s-“ Derek cleared his throat and gathered his thought before continuing. “You shouldn’t be out here by yourself. Where do you live? I’ll walk you home.”

The kid smiled at him again, this time shy. “Really? Thanks!”

“No need to thank me. Just making sure you don’t get eaten by bears,” Derek joked. The look of horror in the kid’s face made him instantly regret it.

“Hey, no. There aren’t any bears around here. I was just kidding.”

“Oh,” the kid let out a shaky breath before smiling again.

“What’s your name, anyway?” Derek asked.

Scott McCall was the kid’s name and he lived far away enough that Derek wanted to chastise him for trying to cut through the forest. But he kept his mouth shut and instead listened to Scott talk about how he spent most afternoons at his friend’s house because his parents worked all day long. The bittersweet sad smell came back as he talked about that and Derek wondered how bad things were at his house.

“I can’t believe you’re not cold,” Scott said as he shivered a little. Derek instinctively put an arm around him and brought him closer. “You’re even warm!”

Scott’s hand was suddenly on his bare stomach, and Derek stopped and looked down. In a flash the boy was a couple of steps away from him and blushing furiously.

“Sorry,” Scott muttered.

“Don’t worry,” Derek answered, smiling.

A couple of minutes later Scott said he saw his house through the trees and instantly worried. “Both my mom and dad are home,” Scott whispered. “They’re going to be angry that I got lost.”

Derek sighed. “I’m sure they’ll be more happy that you’re safe.”

Scott looked down. As they approached the house Derek could make out the sound of a woman talking and a man answering in an angry tone. Again he placed a protective arm around Scott. The boy leaned towards him this time. They stopped a few yards away from the house, where the arguing was audible even for Scott.

“I’ll just go,” Scott whispered.

Derek nodded, fighting the urge to pick him up and run home with him.

Derek stayed to hear the relieved sobs of Scott’s mom and the angry shouting of his dad. His eyes shone yellow and his claws grew as he heard the yells grow louder. Thankfully he never heard anything that resembled a punch or a slap because he wasn’t sure his control would hold for that.

The noises died down. Scott’s father settled in front of the TV and his mother made him dinner. Derek stayed until his own mother’s worried howl made him hurry back home.

 


End file.
